Life Lesson: When in Trouble, Don't Contact Your Client

For a self taught jewelry maker, the knowledge often comes from a place I would never imagine.

Towards the end of last year I had somebody who asked me to make a pair of earrings that I would say challenging to make. But I decided to discuss with her and willing to stretch my knowledge.  After a back and forth a couple of times, she finally loved what I had scribbled for her.

I was so happy. Told her the price, she agreed and paid right away. Double happy.

But the trouble came when I had to fabricate the pieces. I had stumbled on the technical detail on the finishing.

Assumed that she would prefer the piece to be hammered like how I would do to almost all of my gold filled pieces, I didn't bother asking this detail. When the image of the final piece is sent, she said: alright I like them but the hammered look is not what I preferred.

Oops! Flustered, my heart raced so hard and was thinking but this is the only way I know to harden the metal.

There is another way how to harden a metal, with a tumbler. However I don't have any of these machine. Even if I buy it would take time since this is the end of the year, and some of the stores I know would have closed.

Went back to the customer and told her about this problem. She sounded upset. There is a possibility that she is angry. We negotiated for the price and finally gave her a big discount.

Packed the pieces, I told myself, fiuh! Almost lost the sales there.

The story is not finished. She followed the email, if you can make them in shiny finished it would be nice thought I don't have to wear them until January 19th.

Oh no!

My friend Natalka from keepityours gave me an advice to try with a plastic or wooden mallet.

I have tried with rubber mallet and have not been successful with those. So I found a piece of wood instead and did what she told me.

After hammering them with this piece wood, the earrings went hard, and it came out so beautiful, I have to admit her taste. I had a sore back but this is another thing.

Told her the good news. She was happy. Very happy I think, because she gets the earrings she likes with a discounted price.

Life lesson for me: When in trouble, don't contact your client.

After this, I have ordered two mallets online: rawhide and wooden. Preparing myself for the next war indeed.

You can see the difference of the shiny and hammered finished on the first image of this post.

Here are the photos of the hammered look which is available here.  

If you have noticed that I don't have the shiny finished available, that's because I prefer to work with what I am familiar with.

But that doesn't stop you from having them though. If you have the same taste as my previous client and want to have the same pair, please let me know that you have read my blog and would want the finishing touch to be shiny. I'll understand right away.

To end this story, I would like to have your opinion. Which finished do you like, round and shiny or slightly hammered ?